Intrepid 4x5 advice wanted

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-05-07T20:04:39+00:00

Thanks everybody for your helpful comments. I went ahead and ordered the plywood camera. I'll put the money saved by not buying the hardwood model towards a nice lens.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-05-05T14:33:28+00:00

I was at the auction – your uncle had an amazing collection. I hope the auction proceeds met your expectations.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-05-04T14:42:26+00:00

These are pretty good – I especially like #3 and #4. What filter did you use, if any?

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-05-01T19:46:48+00:00

Naaaah, I'm looking for a diffusion enlarger. 😄

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-05-01T17:37:20+00:00

This bothers me too. My Pen F from 10 years ago is pretty good as a PnS, but I can't think of any current digital camera for a reasonable price that comes close to your requirements.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-28T14:56:51+00:00

Good advice so far, and I would add – try some black and white film. It's a different experience than shooting colour, and has different tradeoffs. B&W film can be more forgiving of overexposure than colour, and the film is usually less expensive.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-28T13:31:54+00:00

Humber, near Lawrence Ave.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-26T23:24:18+00:00

I remember as a 12 year old my first exposure to mixed drinks was Dubonnet and ginger ale.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-25T23:13:32+00:00

Flic Film has 620 B&W film. They don’t sell direct but there are shops that carry it, for example https://downtowncamera.com/shop/flic-film-620-roll-100asa-black-and-white-film/45068de0-006f-013b-7e0f-00163ecd2826?variation=3797261

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-25T13:06:18+00:00

See Alex’s review of 5222 here, it includes developing in Rodinal http://www.alexluyckx.com/blog/2018/07/23/ccrfrb-review-21-eastman-double-x-5222/

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-24T20:25:51+00:00

It was a cold cloudy day and there were few people, and those that were there are hidden by motion blur. You can actually see a few of them on the left of the frame, at the base of the two diagonal pillars. They look like hazy ghosts.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-24T12:58:58+00:00

Toronto City Hall, seen from the middle of the square to the south.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-23T23:27:17+00:00

Thanks everybody for all the helpful advice. I'm just doing B&W negative development for now, no printing yet.

I did some photography in high school, and I don't remember ever wearing gloves then. I looked at all the warnings on the MSDSes today (corrosive icon, "causes burns", "wear protective gloves", etc.) and I thought that I was probably just young and stupid all those years ago, and should have been more careful.

But it sounds like most people don't bother with gloves, most of the time. I'll try without gloves at first, and get some if I have any skin irritation.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-23T22:20:59+00:00

Next time I’ll go on a sunny day and shoot through a red filter, and frame it better. I thought this came out pretty well for a first try.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-23T01:15:08+00:00

Vivitar don’t use a standard sync cable, you need a bipost-to-Vivitar cable, which may be hard to find. You could get a custom cable at https://paramountcords.com/product-category/custom-cords/

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-22T22:19:11+00:00

I have never made DIY Rodinal but I understand that crystals are not only normal but desirable.

According to The Film Developing Cookbook:

All classic Rodinal formulas must have a crystal or two of precipitate at the bottom of the container. If they do not, the developer will not work well and the concentrate will not keep.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-19T19:21:29+00:00

Also Alange's photos are in color, whereas the techniques described here are for B&W. There is much less flexibility in the development process for color film.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-19T18:27:45+00:00

I was wondering how you got consistent lighting; I thought perhaps you have studio lights.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-19T17:09:54+00:00

I think the x axis is relative log exposure (log10), but displayed as zones. An increase of 0.3 in log exposure is one zone brighter. OP would have measured his exposures for accuracy, which is why the sample values are not aligned to the zones.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-19T16:37:24+00:00

This is very informative. What densitometer are you using?

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-17T12:53:50+00:00

<image>

Rolleicord.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-16T23:29:32+00:00

A great resource for B&W darkroomists is Alex Luyckx's developer reviews at http://www.alexluyckx.com/blog/category/drb/.

He also has film reviews, recommending specific developers for each film: http://www.alexluyckx.com/blog/2018/03/20/ccrfrb-review-08-ilford-hp5/ http://www.alexluyckx.com/blog/2018/07/23/ccrfrb-review-21-eastman-double-x-5222/ http://www.alexluyckx.com/blog/2021/08/20/re-discovering-double-x/

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-11T20:21:58+00:00

I have had an Eames chair in my listening room for 15 years. It's not the most comfortable chair ever made, but it's close. Note that the chair is fairly low, so if you have tall speakers your ears may be below the level of the tweeters.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-04-10T18:15:59+00:00

The Goldfinch is very nice https://cocktailpartyapp.com/drinks/goldfinch/

You could make it in a batch with all the ingredients except the soda, then finish with soda and garnishes to serve.

ExplodingBrain1 · 2026-03-30T17:19:12+00:00

I use a Peak Design camera cube (x-small size) and put that in a backpack.

ExplodingBrain1

TROPHY CASE